A new study suggested that excessive cellular oxidative stress may be a
factor causing autism.

In the study, researchers measured plasma glutathione and its metabolic
precursors in 95 autistic children and 75 children without autism. It
was found that levels of glutathione are significantly lower in autistic
children than in the children without autism.

Glutathione is a key detoxifying compound in cells. The researchers
believed that deficiency of glutathione cause excessive oxidative stress
because the cells cannot deal with the damaging free radials adequately.
The excessive free radials can damage the sensitive cells in the brain,
the gastrointestinal tract, and the immune system, which eventually
contribute to the development of autism.

Further studies suggested that three genes, namely, the
catecho-O-methyltransferase gene, the transcobalamin II gene, and the
glutathione-S-transferase M1 gene, may be affected somehow in the
autistic children. It's not clear how these genes are involved in the
autistic metabolic disorder. <more>
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Some have suggested this is why mercury is more of a problem for some
people.

http://www.foodconsumer.org/777/8/glutathione_autism.shtml

Levels could be high or low

... and suggest exposure possible for
2-butoxyethanol

This is the chemical that can cause birth defects such as autism

Didn't we see that in the Vietnam vets' children?

This chemical should be more suspect for their harm, too than
dioxin should

-Butoxyethanol is a clear colorless liquid that smells like ether. It
has many names including ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylene
glycol butyl ether, ethylene glycol n-butyl ether, Butyl Cellusolve,
butyl glycol, and butyl Oxitol. It is used as a solvent in spray
lacquers, enamels, varnishes, and latex paints and as an ingredient in
paint thinners and strippers, varnish removers, and herbicides. It is
also used in liquid soaps, cosmetics, industrial and household cleaners,
and dry-cleaning compounds.
2-Butoxyethanol acetate is a colorless liquid with a fruity odor. It is
also known as ethylene glycol monobutyl ether acetate, butoxyethyl
acetate, butyl glycol acetate, ethylene glycol butyl ether acetate, and
acetic acid 2-butoxyethyl ester. It is used as a solvent for lacquers,
varnishes, enamels, and epoxy resins. It is also used in some ink and
spot remover compounds.

Exposure to 2-butoxyethanol and butoxyethanol acetate occurs mainly from
breathing air or having skin contact with household products containing
them. Breathing in large amounts of 2-butoxyethanol or 2-butoxyethanol
acetate may result in irritation of the nose and eyes, headache, and
vomiting. 2-Butoxyethanol has been found in at least 20 of the 1,430
National Priorities List sites identified by the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA).

See a doctor if you have been harmed by

Shared by liberalnurse

Evidence for linkage on chromosomes 21q and 7q in a subset of
autism

Researchers of the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center found
that regions of two chromosomes are linked to susceptibility for a
type of autism characterized by regression in development.
Developmental regression can include the loss of previously acquired
language, social skills or both.

Moreover, the study is the first to identify involvement of chromosome
21 in this type of autism.
This may explain the increased prevalence of autism spectrum disorders
( ASD ) among children with Down syndrome, who have an extra copy of
chromosome 21 and are 10 times more likely to have an ASD than the
general population.

The findings represent " the important first step in identifying
genetic variants that may contribute to susceptibility to this
specific type of ASD, " says Cindy Molloy, lead author of the
study.

The study is published in the Molecular Psychiatry.

Molloy and colleagues examined a U.S. database and DNA bank of
hundreds of families with autism spectrum disorders.

They identified 32 pairs of siblings, one trio of siblings and one
pair of cousins who showed definite evidence of regression at the age
of approximately 18 to 24 months.

Researchers confirmed previous evidence for linkage with ASD on
chromosome 7 and found new evidence for susceptibility on chromosome
21 in this subset of ASD families.

The research team is now sequencing genes in those regions to find the
specific genetic variant that either contributes to susceptibility or
modifies the disease.

"Among children with autism or autism spectrum disorders, 20 to
30 percent have a history of regression," says Molloy. " We
think this represents a genetically distinct subgroup."
Autism is a complex developmental disability that affects an
individual in the areas of social interaction and communication.
Autism is a spectrum disorder that affects each individual differently
and to varying degrees of severity.
As many as 1.5 million Americans - children and adults - are thought
to have autism today, according to the Autism Society of America.

Autism and X-fragile syndrome

09 Jun 2005

In the 80s, a research group at the Leioa
campus of the University of the Basque Country worked on
dermatoglyphs, an analysis technique applied to autistic
children. Dermatoglyphs, or handprints and footprints, are
useful in the morphological analysis of the symmetry of the
human body.

That initial study of dermatoglyphs enabled the fluctuating
asymmetry between the sides of the body to be seen, i.e. that
asymmetry with a non-definable pattern being the more common
amongst autistic children than in the rest of the population.

Fragile sites

Following on from this initial morphological study, the research
took a cytogenetic turn. In this second phase, chromosomes of
autistic children were analysed. This was undertaken with the
knowledge that certain sites on the chromosomes were more prone
to breaking than others. One of these fragile locations is found
on the X chromosome and is known as FRAXA.

The results show that children with autism had a significantly
greater frequency of expression of these fragile sites than the
control population. The FRAXA fragile site expressed itself only
amongst autistic children, although not in all. Thus, at a
cytogenetic level, FRAXA s the most important marker for a
genetic alteration that underlies autism.

Too many repetitions

Effectively, the genetic alteration on this location of the X
chromosome was identified at the beginning of the 1990s. The
gene known as FMR1 (Female Mental Retardation 1) is responsible
for the X-fragile syndrome related to autism.

But not all autistic children showed this genetic alteration
and, so, an analysis at a molecular level was undertaken in
order to determine the prevalence of the X-fragile syndrome
amongst individuals with mental backwardness in the Basque
Country.

From a simple blood DNA analysis, it is known that the FMR1 gene
has a CGG (cytosine- guanine-guanine) tri-nucleotide, usually
repeated between 6 and 54 times in normal persons. On the other
hand, amongst premutated persons, these repetitions appear
between 55 and 200 times and, in those who have the mutated gene
- i.e. those suffering from the X fragile syndrome -, they
appear more than 200 times, reaching 1,000 repetitions in some
cases.

The results of this analysis show that none of the individuals
with the X-fragile mutation was of Basque origin though they had
mental backwardness or autistic characteristics. These results
led to the investigation of the stability of the FMR1 gene
amongst the Basque population. The project was subsequently
widened to undertake separate analyses of the different Basque
regions. This study showed that there exist different mutational
paths of the FMR1 gene amongst the Basque population and which
may be of a relatively recent origin - thus explaining the
absence of the X fragile syndrome amongst this population.

With this conclusion reached, the studies now target persons
with the permutated form of the gene given that three
pathologies associated with this CGG premutation have been
discovered: moderate mental backwardness and autistic
characteristics, premature ovarian failure before the age of 45
and ataxia - a pathology with trembling similar to that of
Parkinson's. In short, there is still much to investigate
regarding the X fragile syndrome.

By the way, Simple Green (nontoxic?) is 6% concentration of butyl
cellusolve (Dow Chemical's trade name for 2-butoxyethanol) and it is
used in US penitentiaries exclusively ... those guys might be worse off
when they get out!

Wonder what fishermen wash their boats
with? Some say Lysol
tub 'n Tile, or Simple
Green or Joy ... bet you'd find some n-butyl ethers in some of these

A 'match'
for many ailments - blamed for none

I know it
sounds unbelievable ... but what if I am right?

Only those harmed by it can prove this theory ... but most of
the time not enough medical info is checked out. And when the
blood in urine is found ... it doesn't 'match' the rest of the
profile, and sometimes doctors don't even mention it to their
patients.

2-Butoxyethanol is a clear colorless liquid
that smells like ether. It has many names including ethylene
glycol monobutyl ether, ethylene glycol butyl ether, ethylene
glycol n-butyl ether, Butyl Cellusolve, butyl glycol, and butyl
Oxitol. It is used as a solvent in spray lacquers, enamels,
varnishes, and latex paints and as an ingredient in paint thinners
and strippers, varnish removers, and herbicides. It is also used
in liquid soaps, cosmetics,
industrial and household cleaners, and dry-cleaning compounds.

2-Butoxyethanol acetate is a colorless liquid with a fruity
odor. It is also known as ethylene glycol monobutyl ether acetate,
butoxyethyl acetate, butyl glycol acetate, ethylene glycol butyl
ether acetate, and acetic acid 2-butoxyethyl ester. It is used as
a solvent for lacquers, varnishes, enamels, and epoxy resins. It
is also used in some ink and spot remover compounds.

Exposure to 2-butoxyethanol and butoxyethanol acetate occurs
mainly from breathing air or having skin contact with household
products containing them. Breathing in large amounts of
2-butoxyethanol or 2-butoxyethanol acetate may result in
irritation of the nose
and eyes,
headache,
and vomiting. 2-Butoxyethanol has been found in at least 20 of the
1,430 National Priorities List sites
identified by the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA).

See a doctor if you have been harmed by this substance. In
addition, it may be important to contact
an attorney who can help you protect your legal rights. Please
keep in mind that there may be time
limits within which you must commence suit.